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| September 20, 2011 |
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| Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense Visited Okinawa |
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Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense Visited Okinawa
The newly formed Noda government is intended to accelerate a plan to build a new base in Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa, pursuant to a new 'technical schedule' - a concrete response to the demand of US government which has been pressing the administrations of Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to produce 'visible development in the year'. Resistance of Okinawa people, however, is strong.
Let's stage campaigns to halt the Japan-US base plan in Okinawa.
US COMPELS NEW BASE AND DEPLOYMENT OF ADVANCED AIRCRAFT
Administrative Vice-Minister Nakae Kimito, visited Okinawa on September 1 to have a meeting with Governor Nakaima Hirokazu to impose the government policy to 'speed up the base relocation plan in compliance with the Japan-US Agreement'. The vice-minister told the governor that an evaluation report would be presented to the prefecture's authority by the end of year that constitutes the final procedure necessary for the environmental assessment concerning an engineering work to reclaim land in the sea.
According to the local law, Governor's opinions will be notified within 45 days after submission of an evaluation report. Then some adjustments are made and the assessment procedures will finish. Later, an application will be made to the Okinawa's prefectural authority for permission to fill the coastal area with earth.
Governor maintained that 'seeking a place outside the prefecture will be a quicker solution', but the government official told 'without progress within a year the Futenma Air Station, Ginowan City, will be maintained and consolidated', implying that the 'world's most dangerous base' would not be closed. The vice-minister attributed responsibility to the side of Okinawa Prefecture.
Impatient US and Japanese Governments
A meeting of the US-Japan Consultative Committee for defense ministers and foreign ministers (2 plus 2) was held in June, when the US representatives demanded to accelerate the plan to construct a new base at Henoko. But a few days before the Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, and other leading lawmakers had harshly and openly criticized the alignment program of US forces in Japan, judging it unrealistic and impossible to realize. The Senate's committee had requested to cut all relevant budgets allocated to transfer the Marine Corps to Guam and demanded to make a thorough review of the plan.
The US government is impatient, facing criticisms. It is to break through the deadlock by pressing on the Japanese counterpart to produce tangible results of the plan to relocate facilities from Futenma to Henoko. President Obama, in the phone conversation made on September 1 with Premier Noda, the newly elected DPJ's top leader, not only celebrated his assumption of office but also stressed the base issue as the most preferential task.
In the United States the Department of Defense will submit a draft budget to the Congress in December, and debates will begin in May next year. The recent visit of Japan's Defense Vice-Minister Nakae to Okinawa was a demonstration to reiterate the policy to residents of the southern island who claim 'no more bases' to shut up their voices.
In Okinawa, however, Governor as well as ruling parties of Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito demand to remove the Futenma Base outside the prefecture. It is impossible to disregard the will of residents outright.
24 Osprey Vertical Take-Off and Landing Aircraft to be deployed
Vice-Minister of Defense handed Governor a government reply to the letters of inquiry presented in June this year to the Ministry of Defense by Okinawa Prefecture and Ginowan City concerning the deployment of MV-22 Osprey vertical take-off aircraft: the government reconfirms the policy to station 24 aircraft by 2014 and is not intended to request the US to revise the plan. The government official indicated to annoy inhabitants of Okinawa with severer risks and noises.
The government admits in the reply 'the existing flying routes' of the circular flight training of Osprey, but it evades an answer in the concrete terms, saying that the government of Japan is negotiating with the US authority. Concerning excessive noises, a decision is postponed with an explanation that 'an analysis will be made, taking the flying routes in account'.
The government of Japan refuses to present data on the aircraft, including those of CV-22 of US Air Force, saying that the aircraft is of a new type and the total of flying hours is short.
Since the inauguration of Hatoyama government, the DPJ has zigzagged every time when it faced the key issue, while bureaucrats have been left carefree enough to pursue their goals, taking advantage of ministers to justify and promote their strategies and policies.
Administrative Vice-Minister Nakae visited Okinawa, believing that his direct contact with Okinawa would be much wiser as the newly nominated defense minister is less experienced.
Arrogance and overbearing of bureaucrats will certainly be blocked by people's power.
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